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Salad

Agar-Agar Salad

A chilled salad of agar‑agar, chives, egg sheets, bean sprouts, and a sesame‑soy dressing.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and chive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,149 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Agar-Agar Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chives

  1. Soak agar-agar strands in cold water for 30 minutes to one hour while preparing the rest of the salad.

  2. Wash the flowering chives and snap off any tough lower ends.

  3. Finely chop some of the chives stalks to yield about 3 tablespoons.

  4. Cut the rest of the chives into bite-sized lengths.

  5. Drop the chives into boiling water for 30 seconds.

  6. Drain the chives and immerse them in iced water to set the colour, draining them as soon as they are cold.

Make the egg sheets

  1. Beat the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and stir in chopped chives.

  2. Heat a heavy frying pan, then cook just enough egg mixture to coat the pan with a thin layer.

  3. When the egg sheet is set but not browned, turn it onto a plate.

  4. Rub the pan lightly with oil before making another egg sheet.

  5. Continue until all the egg is used up.

  6. When the egg sheets are cool, cut them into thin strips (to make this easier, stack egg sheets and roll them into a cylindrical shape first).

Assemble the salad

  1. Wash bean sprouts, pinching off any straggly tails.

  2. Drain the agar-agar well.

  3. Cut the agar-agar into bite-sized strips.

  4. Combine all the ingredients, cover and chill.

Dress and serve

  1. In a bowl whisk together the dressing, first crushing the garlic to a smooth paste with the sugar.

  2. Pour the dressing over the salad.

  3. Toss the salad and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

450Calories
8 gProtein
32 gFat
34 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Peanut Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Chive1 tbsp (3g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + chivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,149 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Agar + chivetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Chive + clovetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together450 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Agar-agar
Sets the salad into a light, springy texture when chilled.
Eggs
Form thin sheets that give the salad body and a tender bite.
Flowering garlic chives
Add a mild garlic flavour and fresh green colour.
Bean sprouts
Add a crisp, watery crunch that contrasts with the soft egg and gel.
Light soy sauce
Adds salty, savoury depth to the dressing.
Sesame oil
Adds a nutty aroma to the dressing.

The step that matters

Set the egg sheets without browning. Cook each thin layer only until set, not browned. Browning makes the egg tough and harder to roll and cut into even strips, while a thin layer sets evenly without overcooking.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (agar, garlic, chive, egg, pepper, peanut oil, sugar):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against agar, garlic, chive, egg, pepper, peanut oil, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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